Board Hears Results Of Experiment

April 18, 1985

KISSIMMEE — With simple instruments like a xylophone and drum, 18 students from Reedy Creek Elementary School performed folk songs and a popular classical piece in a debut this week before the school board.

The 18 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders were showing off their musical knowledge, learned through a relatively new way of teaching known as the Orff method.

The Orff method, developed after World War II by German musician Carl Orff, primarily was initiated to keep folk music alive. It still is a new teaching method; only a handful of schools in the county use it and there are few colleges in the nation that train teachers in its use.

The students spend an hour each morning before school to study music.

Maolee Duckworth, Reedy Creek music teacher, said the method gives students a thorough understanding of music through speech, rhythm, and body language.

A second performance will be given at the April 27 District 6 Music Festival to be held in Orlando.